Process of weaving elastic webbing



Feb. 3, 9 r 1,524,820 H. s'r, J. GUILD H PROCESS OF WEAVING- ELASTIC WEBBING Fil ed Aug. 24, 1922 Patented Feb. 3, 1925,

UNITED s'mrss HAROLD ST. J. GUILD, 0F JAMAICA PLAIN, MASSACHUSETTS.

.". v f PROCESS OF WEAVING ELASTIC WEBIBING.

Application filed August 24, 1922.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, HAROLD ST. J. GUILD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jamaica Plain, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Weaving Elastic Webbing, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of elastic webbing of the character used in suspenders and the like. The invention is particularly concerned with single ply webbing of this character.

It has been customary heretofore to manufacture single ply elastic webbing by using a'single shuttle for each web. This process necessarily is relatively slow, and 1t is thechief object of the present invention to devise a process of manufacturing elastic webbing which will be faster and more economical than the processes heretofore practiced.

7 he nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed the appended claims.

In the drawings,

-Figure 1 is a diagram showing the shed and shuttle arrangement preferably used in manufacturing webbing in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the character' of the weave at one edge of a piece of webbing embodying the invention; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective diagrammatic view showing the character of the weave at one edge of the fabric.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates an arrangement which may con veniently be used in practicing the present 7 invention with the aid of a narrowv ware loom of the usual construction. As here illustrated, the warp threads and the strands of rubber are arranged to form two sheds,

, one above the other, the strands of rubber occupying an intermediate position and forming the bottom of the upper shed and the top of the lower shed. These strands of rubber, commonly called rubbers, are drawn from a beam 3. The'warp threads may be handled in any convenient manner. In the arrangement shown the warp threads out in- Serial No. 584,003.

for the body of the fabric are guided on the rolls 4 and 5, and the marginal warps and the gut threads, if such are used, on the roll 6. The breast ,roll'is indicated at 7 Upper and lower shuttles 1 and 2 run in the upper and lower sheds, respectively, and they preferably are projected through the sheds simultaneously in the same direction, although they may, if desired, be propelled in opposite directions simultaneously. The harness motion will depend upon the pattern which it is desired to weave, as will be obvious to those skilled in this art.

The strands of rubber remain stationary.

With this arrangement a double length of filling is inserted at each pick. The two shuttles 1 and 2 can be operated as rapidly as can a single shuttle, and consequently twice as much filling can be laid with this process as in the prior processes of weaving single ply'fabric. This webbing, therefore,'can be produced at substantially twice the rate that single ply webbing can be woven by the processes heretofore practiced. A further advantage of this arrangement as compared with prior processes, is that no up and down movement of the strands of rubber is required, so that the friction on these strands and on the warp threads is substantially reduced.

At the edges of the fabric a tubular selvage is woven to enclose the edge rubbers. This feature of the invention will be readily understood from an inspection of Fig. 2, which shows a cross sectional diagram at one edge of the fabric during the process of weaving, the dotted line X--Y separating the body of the goods at the right from the edge or margin thereof at the left. This diagram assumes that the weave in the body of the fabric, so far as here indicated, is plain, the threads forming the top of the upper shed during one pick being designated at A, while those at the bottom of the lower shed at this instant are designated at C. The strands of rubber in the body of the web are indicated at D. Y

The edge rubbers D preferably are at I i used in the margin may, of course, be varied to suit the requirements of the particular piece-of goods being woven, but in any event it should be substantially greater than the rubber used at any given point in is the warp. thread'B, which may be designated as a tie thread, and which works, one pick up and one pick down, through both sheds outsideithe*threads F and G, is woven in with both filling threads P and Q, and, consequently, ties the outer edge of this single ply marginal fabric to the lowerfilling thread and,-hence; to the body of the fabric. A greater tension is used on the lower thread Qvthan on the upper threadP and, due-to this diiference intcnsion, the lower thread pulls the outer edge of this single ply marginal fabric backwardly around the edge 1 rubbers DD where it substantial- 1y encircles or encloses-the edge rubbers.

This action will be clearly understood from an inspection of Fig. 3'which illus- ,trates the manner inwhich the upper and lower filling threads P and Q are united by the tie thread B, and also shows how the greater tension on the lower filling thread Q pulls the outer edge of the single ply inarginaround the edge rubbers D. In-this figure, and also in Fig. 2, the size of the threads and the spaces between them have, of course, been exaggerated, as will readily be understood. The increased weight of rubber used in the margin is sufl'icient to contract this tubular selvage to the same degree that the body fabric is contracted bythe body rubbers D, so that the web lies flatand even when it is completed. The same weav is used at the 0pposite Selvage.

This invention is especially applicable to the weavingof' lisle webbing which is much used in the lighter weight suspenders, and

because of the increased production afforded by this process with substantially the same equipment ordinarily used forsingle ply goods, f;it effects a substantial economy in the manufacture of these light weight. webbings. dVhi le there may be some question technically asto the accuracy in designating the goods described as single ply goods, still goods of this character are known in thetrade by this term and also vas -lisle webbing.

Itwill be understood that no attempt has been made to describe the various patterns or weaves that can be used in manufactur 111g*Qbblng-'lCCOlCililg to this'invention, the

foregoing description being intended as a characteristics may be used in the two shuttles so that the face and back of the goods will present substantially different appearances. For instance, silk thread may be run in the face shuttle and cotton thread in the back shuttle. These and other weaving expedients will, however, be obvious to those skilled in this art.

This process may also be used with the same advantages in-the weaving of nonelastic webbings' used for-straps, belts and the like, where central warps,- frequently referred to as padding warps, -or gut warps, are used in place of the rubber strands, and are handled in the same way. Consequently, the reference in the foregoing description and in the appended claims to strands of rubber, should be understood, where the context permits, to include gut warps of the character just mentioned, it being understood that the statementsabove 'made as to'the increased weight of rubber lating the warp threads throughout the greater part of both sheds to form, with said filling threads, a single ply fabric of the desired pattern, manipulating the edge warps to cooperate with oneonly of said filling threads to weave, a'sin'gle ply margin at each selvage edge outside the edge stranc s of rubber, manipulating a tie thread at each selvage edge to tie both filling threads together, and applying greater tension to the second filling thread than to the filling thread in said singleply margins whereby the secon'd'filling thread'will act through said tie thread'to pull said single ply margins around the'edge strands of ruber. 7 Y

2; That improvement in the process'ot weaving narrow elastic. webbing which consists in arranging warp threads and strands of rubber to form two sheds, one above the other, with the strands of rubber forming the top of the lower shed and the bottom tern, using substantially heavier strands of of the upper shed, inserting two filling rubber in each selvage edge than at any threads in said sheds simultaneously at point in the body of the fabric, and manipu- 10 each pick with one thread in each shed, malating the edge warps to form, With said 5 nipulating the Warp threads between picks filling, a tubular Woven selvage enclosing to cooperate with said filling threads to prothe edge strands of rubber. duce a single ply fabric of the desired pat- HAROLD ST. J. GUILD, 

